Skeletal prosthesis involves two somewhat distinct problems, one of engineering the desired structure to imitate nature's functional intent, the other of developing materials commensurate with a living environment. One material believed to be suitable for use is high purity graphite. Graphite, however, has not been previously produced so as to permit bone ingrowth.
It has been previously suggested that an article containing highly oriented porosity with a pore size of 100 to 1000 microns would permit osteon penetration and thus bone ingrowth and interlocking. However, no such carbon article has previously been produced.
There are prior art methods of producing extremely porous graphites. For example, various carbon-containing organic substances have been graphitized. These include ion exchange resin beads, carbon-containing foams and the like. None of the known methods, however, provide highly oriented pores of uniform size and of circular cross section.